Seven Infinities Away From Home

SIXTEEN

Hazel awoke in her new bedroom surrounded by hushed voices. She kept her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep as she listened in on what they had to say.

"She's not dangerous, I promise you," Siyan begged.

"This is why we do not allow non-Gyontans inside the kingdom!" a female voice whisper-shouted.

"It would have happened regardless. Vantherne had to leave this place anyways, apparently."

"Sir, I do not think you understand the scale of this situation! She must be trained or she might end up hurting someone else, or worse, herself. Especially after what she saw... I do not like the idea of another species here but I do sympathize with the horror that she witnessed. I can't imagine what was going through her mind..."

A new male voice spoke. It was soft, but had an edge of danger to it.

"You're lucky it wasn't the sword that went through that, your highness."

"I did what I had to do to protect my kingdom! He was out of control."

"It is not your kingdom yet," the voice reminded, "so until then, you'd best be getting to Nedoza's proposal."

The two sets of footsteps carried off, but Siyan remained. As the door shut, he sighed deeply, resting a hand on Hazel's shoulder.

"I can't do this. It's primitive, outdated, and honestly, there's someone else I love."

Hazel twitched, making Siyan grumble a little to himself.

"You were awake, weren't you?"

She nodded sleepily.

"I may or may not have overheard you and Nosiji talking," she said in a weak voice, opening her eyes.

Siyan blinked at the sound of his lover's name.

"It's hard, you know, loving someone who can't be here. If they find out she's Unaltered, and I'm not on the throne, then the Council will likely throw her out into the Barrenlands or maybe even Giyalas, I don't know. They've done both before."

"Why is it so bad that she's Unaltered?" Hazel asked.

Siyan frowned.

"No clue," he admitted, "but my guess is that we're the last Gyontans left and they want to make sure that we all have the Verita Alteration while we try and grow back to where we once were."

He stood up, stretching his long arms above his head as he yawned.

"Well, you probably heard that guy. I propose or the Council acts. It's not often they can overpower the royal family, and I don't doubt that they'll jump at the chance," he said, opening the bedroom door, "I'm sure Oza will pop in and say hello."

As she sat alone in her bedroom, images from the day before flashed in and out of her mind. The blood on her dress, Vantherne's eyes as he reached out to kill, the way she could read those memory spheres like open books. The warmth of the aura that surrounded her returned as she shuddered.

Her hands were aglow as her thoughts came back, but not nearly with the power she'd displayed previously. She was numb to it; her mind had become a thick fog.

What if that woman was right? What if she was dangerous? What if she hurt someone? Siyan had said that Vantherne was the one out of control, but as she thought back, she couldn't help but feel that she was the one who better fit that title.

~~~

The rising of the next morning's sun came with the joyous ringing of bells from all throughout the city. It was a glorious day, one which had preparations beginning decades ago.

Hazel rubbed her eyes, taking in the light. It didn't take long at all before Siyan barged into her room tugging at his long silver hair.

"What have I done, Hazel, what the hell have I done?" he asked, eyes wide.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I proposed. I had to. Everyone was watching. They gave me the necklace. I had to do it, Haze, I had to do it. I had no choice. Her face... Nedoza just cried. Everyone thought it was of happiness but you and I know that's not true. Oh for the love of Tzefkos, what have I done..."

Hazel stood up, placing her hands on the frantic prince's shoulders and staring sternly into his eyes.

: "It will be okay, alright?"

Siyan nodded, wiping a tear from his orange eyes.

"What do I do?"

Hazel thought for a moment. She looked around the room as if searching for something that would give her an answer.

"I have an idea."

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Siyan whispered as he led Hazel through the halls to Nedoza's closed bedroom door.

"Yes, and she's got to be in on it for everything to go smoothly. Just trust me."

Siyan took in a deep breath and let his hand knock gently on the door.

"Oza, it's me," he said, "I- we need to talk to you about something."

Footsteps.

"Go away, Siyan."

Hazel cleared her throat.

"This is serious. I know how we can make things right, but you need to be willing to listen!"

Silence, then finally, the door creaked open, revealing a disaster zone of a bedroom. Nedoza's hair was frizzed and tangled in all directions, and she wore nothing but a pink bathrobe and matching slippers. Her eyes were weighed down by huge bags, and her nose was red from an endless stream of tissues.

"Well, don't just stand there, come in."

Hazel and Siyan shook themselves back to reality, scrambling in and shutting the door behind them. Nedoza hopped backwards onto her magnificent canopy bed, swinging her legs as she stared at the two guests.

"So, tell me what you've got," she said with a faint smile.